


Deal or Date

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-24 23:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22206004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "Emma and Jamie are twins, whose older brother Jack fell in a frozen lake while saving Emma. He hasn’t been the same happy, fun-loving guy since. The twins have noticed that he only ever seems to show signs of his old self whilst bickering with their baby sister Sophie’s elementary teacher, Aster. So, they decide to set the two of them up.Jamie and Emma don’t get along very often, but when they team up, they are a devilish force to be reckoned with. Jack and Aster don’t stand a chance."I imagine Jack here as living at home and maybe taking some community college classes while he helps his mom with his younger siblings and tries to deal with how he and Emma almost died last winter. But this is really just a little scene at a coffee shop.
Relationships: E. Aster Bunnymund/Jack Frost
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58
Collections: JackRabbit Short Fics





	Deal or Date

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 6/22/2015.

Jack sipped his iced coffee as he sat at one of the small sidewalk tables of Backalley Brews. The afternoon was getting on enough so that the building provided shade for Jack’s table, and with the summer breeze mingling with the mild air conditioning from inside the open-fronted coffee shop, Jack was comfortable enough to doze off, though the coffee prevented that. Coffee that, as promised, was unusually good.  
  
Jack chewed on his straw. True, this was probably the nicest thing he had done for himself since the accident with the ice last winter, but should he be here at all? Jamie and Emma had recommended the place to him and told him to go, so that meant that they felt they weren’t in any danger. And there certainly wasn’t any ice at this time of year, and Jack knew they had passed their swimming lessons because he had driven them there for all their classes…but there were so many other things they could get up to. They were both thirteen, and Emma had suddenly gotten taller recently, so when she and Jamie went places, she said he was her little brother—true, by ten minutes—and people assumed she was older than she was. Since it only worked when they were together, there were some things that Jack worried about less, but firework stores had been popping up like mushrooms and the one nearest their house had a sleepy little owner who didn’t seem to speak English or like someone who would check IDs.  
  
That had to be the reason why they had worked so hard to get him out of the house today. Jack bit his straw even harder. Surely they would wait till it was at least dusk to try anything? Surely Jack could catch a bus that would get him home by then. He shouldn’t have let them persuade him to leave! It’ll be nice, they had said, he could sketch in peace, they had said. How could he have been so foolish? Obviously they were going places they weren’t supposed to, how had they even known about this coffee shop? It was practically on the university campus and not somewhere they had ever had any reason to be!  
  
Jack pulled out his phone to call up the bus schedule—a lot of them had been going by, but he needed an express. Okay, there was one in ten minutes. That was a long time when explosives were involved, but it wouldn’t even be close to dark by the time he got home and—  
  
“—yeah, and I didn’t even know this place sold gift cards.” Jack heard the voice from slightly behind him. It sounded familiar, but who would he know here? “It was a nice gesture, even if I’m not supposed to take gifts, but sure, I’m going to be bribed into changing an elementary schooler’s art grade for a few bucks of coffee, so, whatever. Anyway it’s right on the way back from Warren Art. And that’s where I am now. I’m not going to spend too much time here before coming over, so tell that to North as a warning. I don’t want a repeat of the Christmas party, and I don’t think you do either. No kidding! Okay. See you later.”  
  
Jack turned around to see, of all people, his little sister Sophie’s art teacher putting his phone away and walking towards the counter. Aster. Jack smiled unconsciously and glanced at his coffee. Good, it was over half-full still. He definitely could make it last long enough for Aster to get his drink, and then maybe they could talk for a little bit. Jack liked Aster, but he had only been able to talk to him when he picked Sophie up from school. Still, he thought they could have a lot to talk about, and—no! No, he couldn’t do that, he had to stop his other siblings from burning the house down. In fact, where was that bus? He’d better get to the stop early. He stood up quickly and his chair tipped backwards. He wheeled around to catch it before it could crash to the ground, only to find that Aster had caught it.  
  
“Jack!” Aster looked astonished, but only for a moment. “Fancy seeing you here,” he said, setting the chair back up. He smiled at Jack and Jack felt his own smile get much more nervous.  
  
“Yeah, about that, I’m not really here,” he protested. “I have to catch an express bus in like, two minutes, because I’m pretty sure Emma and Jamie are buying fireworks illegally and that’s why they said I should go here today.” He grimaced. Aster seemed far too amused at this life or death situation.  
  
“Have they ever tried to do that before?” he asked.  
  
“No way,” Jack said, “but that’s only because I was around and—holycrapthere’sthebus!” He went to run for it, but Aster reached out and caught his arm.  
  
“What are you doing? You gonna sprint across four lanes of traffic without looking?”  
  
“But!”  
  
“All you’ve got is speculation,” Aster said. “And I’d bet all the paint I own that you don’t have decaf in that cup. And I have some speculation too.”  
  
“About Emma and Jamie? But they don’t even go to your school anymore.”  
  
Aster smiled. “Stand with me in line?”  
  
And since he had missed the bus—and wanted to spend time with Aster, really this would be excellent if he could be sure Emma and Jamie weren’t _setting themselves on fire_ –he did.  
  
“So, I ought to thank your mother for the gift card here,” Aster said casually. “Since Sophie made such a point of telling me I could stop here after my Saturday art shopping.”  
  
Jack tilted his head. “I will, but she never mentioned anything about it. Didn’t she only meet you once? And she loves the projects Sophie brings home, but she knows—I mean, I overheard you just now, and she knows teachers aren’t supposed to get gifts.”  
  
Aster nodded. “So, it wasn’t you either. Does Sophie get an allowance?”  
  
“Sure,” said Jack, “but we know when she buys things…wait. Are you saying Emma and Jaime bought you a gift card here? Why would they do that? They only know you from what I’ve said about you at home…” Jack trailed off and looked intently out at the street.  
  
“Did you mention that I go to a particular art store on Saturdays?”  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
“Were they really specific about wanting you to come here on a Saturday?”  
  
Jack nodded again.  
  
Aster chuckled. “Let me call them with your phone. I’ll make sure they’re not on fire.”  
  
“But you had somewhere to go…”  
  
“They won’t mind if I’m late. I’ll text Tooth and she can make whatever guesses she wants. Anyway…I didn’t know you were here. Now that I do…well, I think there’s enough for two drinks on this card. I’ll get you something decaf.”  
  
“Well, I—only if we can absolutely prove no one’s on fire,” Jack said.  
  
“It’s a deal,” Aster said, giving Jack a half-smile. “And after we get proof, maybe—maybe it’ll be a date.”  
  
Jack smiled more quickly than he had since last winter.


End file.
